Advocacy

Population: 608,660

After years of semi-successfully lobbying elected officials to revamp an ancient bicycle master plan, the Cascade Bicycle Club took a more proactive approach. The club—which boasts 14,000 members, 26 full-time staffers, and a contact list of more than 80,000 supporters—formed a political action committee and started promoting its own candidates for office. In the last election cycle, 75 percent of the candidates the club endorsed won.

The growing political support is noticeable. Recent projects include a two-way cycle track on Broadway and a network of neighborhood greenways to complement the bike infrastructure that already exists on most arterial roads. But all this civic participation isn’t without an edgier side. The Dead Baby Downhill race, held in August, is dubbed the West Coast’s biggest bike party. The postrace gathering features human-powered carnival rides and draws thousands of cyclists, from partiers aboard monster bikes to safety-conscious commuters in neon gear.

Ride in Seattle
See how Seattle ranked in our last Best Cities report